The World is Wide Enough
by ampharosmaster64
Summary: An alternate ending to ME3, because my Shepard would've gotten out of there alive, and synthetic life would be ok. Some of the aftermath, mentions of shakarian. Written because I just finished ME3, and I was just disappointed, so I wrote my own ending. Minor swearing.
1. Reapers Refuted

_I do not own Mass Effect, Mass Effect is owned by Bioware and Electronic Arts_

"So, you're only giving me three ways to end this?" Commander Katherine Shepard asked the catalyst, as she stood before it, gravely wounded from the battle in London. She was in the citadel, with the AI that controlled the reapers. The AI, known to her as the catalyst, was the thing that controlled the deadly reapers she fought to destroy.

"Yes, choose wisely." It chirped. "Control us, destroy us, or unite the synthetic and organic life of the universe."

"There is no other option?" she asked again.

"Nope, this is all you get." It replied.

"Then I choose the impossible then." Shepard said, and she started dismantling her pistol as she walked towards the destruction terminal.

"What are you doing?" the catalyst asked.

Shepard started to chuckle.

"You think; I'm just going to accept everything at face value? You think I don't consider every choice? These are garbage!"

"Yelling at them won't fix your situation." The catalyst continued. "You have to choose sometime, or everything dies."

"I'm trying to hurry, I'm aware I'm running out of time." Shepard snapped. She was now at the console, and quickly looking at every piece of her now completely dismantled pistol.

"To do what? I already told you the best solution." Said the catalyst, tilting its head at the synthesis beam. "The final and complete stage of evolution."

"There are a million things wrong with that one, just you wait, and I'll explain." Shepard replied, still fiddling with the destroy control panel. "You promise galactic peace, but the price is too high, the universe is unique and that is our strength. If everything is the same, we destroy freedom itself."

"But there would be peace."

"I'd rather die! The cost of peace isn't that high!"

"We knew you wouldn't understand, We're beyond your comprehension." Catalyst scoffed. "So, why not control us?"

"Because, I've fought to defeat you, not become you. I can't imagine living the rest of my days of a collective, without being with my friends." Shepard explained. "I couldn't tell Tali or Ashley, or anyone else how much I value them, I couldn't tell Garrus how much I love him, or the Normandy crew, Joker, EDI, Samantha, and Steve, how much I appreciate them. I couldn't see the Turians, Humans, Asari, Quarians, Salarians, Geth or Krogan grow and recover. I couldn't help earth rebuild. I wouldn't be able to see any of that. It'd be like a beat without a melody, I'd rather be dead, and the reapers need to die."

"Funny that you mention the Geth, and that AI friend of yours, you must value their existence. Then why are you at the destruction console?" asked the Catalyst smugly.

"I do value them, and I refuse to destroy them with the reapers. They are not the same, they can be saved. What was the point of getting the Geth and Quarians to get along if I'm just going to blow them up?" Shepard answered.

"You said destroy Geth and Quarians? Curious."

"How do I know this doesn't just disable AIs, but all tech in the galaxy, if it really can't distinguish from a reaper and a non-reaper?" she said as she closed the panel of the destruction module. "And even if it doesn't disable their suits, without the Geth, it'll take them centuries to rebuild their civilization."

Shepard then started to type on the console, and catalyst was still confused as ever.

"Human, you are contradicting what you said."

"No I'm not, I haven't gotten this far with friends like mine, not to know the difference between AIs and Reapers. You think you had me beat huh?" Shepard said, laughing hysterically as she quickly typed. "This is for Miranda, Thane, Mordin, Kaiden, Legion, Anderson, and others I don't have time to name you son of a bitch!"

"What have you done?! Wait what?!" screeched the catalyst.

And before it knew it, there was an explosion, and the world went black.


	2. What Comes Next?

"Shepard, please wake up. Shepard?"

"Please relax Mr. Vakarian, you haven't recovered from your wounds yet. You need rest!"

Shepard heard the conversation, even if she was in the middle of a green and lush forest. She seemed to be in a clearing, one side of the forest getting more and more beautiful, while the other side got duller, and looked more dead.

"Garrus? Where are you?" she shouted into the sky.

"Ah Shepard!" a high pitched voiced greeted from the right of Shepard.

Shepard quickly turned around and saw her old friend, Mordin Solus.

"Mordin, it's great to see you!" Shepard said in excitement, shaking the Salarian Scientist's hand. Then she hesitated. "I'm dead, aren't I? Especially if I'm seeing you here."

"Not dead Shepard, well, mostly." He said. "You are sort of dead, but not really. It's a bit problematic, but I'm sure you'll know what to do."

"Where am I?"

"Well, if I had to guess. Land where the dead and living can interact, only when one is close to death, they can arrive here." Mordin explained, making an inquisitive expression, hand near his mouth.

"So, is everyone else here too?"

"Probably, somewhere. Shepard, you can either stay here, or go back." Mordin suggested.

"I think I see Miranda and Kaiden in the distance." Shepard said, squinting at the horizon. Then she quickly shook her head. "No, I'm not ready yet. Everyone needs me."

"So, this is goodbye once again Shepard?" Mordin asked.

"Yes, I have to go back. Dying is easy, living is harder." She said gruffly. "It was…...good seeing you Mordin. Goodbye friend, and say hi to everyone else for me."

"Good luck with rebuilding the galaxy Shepard, until we meet again." He waved goodbye with a smile.

Shepard ran to the darker side of the forest, and fell down a dark hole, and woke up with a jolt in a hospital bed, the room around her was swarming with doctors, and in the beds, next to her were Tali and Garrus, both were unconscious.

"Shepard is awake Doctor Chakwas!" one of the doctors said in shock.

"She is? Well, quickly give her some food and water. She's been out for three days!" Chakwas shouted from another room, voice getting louder as footsteps approached the room.

"Did we win? Are the reapers destroyed? Where's the rest of my crew?" Shepard quickly asked as a nurse brought her a bowl of soup, and a cup of water.

"Please rest ma'am." The nurse begged.

"I can't rest until I know the reapers are dead, and that my team is alright!" Shepard demanded.

"Commander, please, calm down and I'll try to explain." Doctor Chakwas said as she entered the room. "Nurse Barret, you may leave now. I'll take care of the Commander."

The Nurse who brought in the food walked out of the room, leaving the soup and water at Shepard's bedside.

"It's good to see you're alive Doctor." Shepard said with a relived sigh.

"You destroyed the reapers Commander, you did the impossible." Chakwas explained. "I'd take out the brandy, but I don't think you're well enough to celebrate yet."

"Are the Geth alright?" Shepard asked, causing Chakwas' expression to become puzzled.

"Um…yes they are Commander, helping the Quarians from what I can recall."

Shepard made a sigh of relief.

"So, it's over, we've won." She said, before losing consciousness once more.


	3. The World Turned Upside Down

Over the next week, Shepard retold her story to many visiting officers from her hospital bed in London. Reconstruction was underway, and the galaxy was slowly, but surely recovering.

Shepard caught up with her friends, including Tali and Garrus in the hospital. Considering they were just a few feet away. Everyone was just happy to be alive at that moment, and they celebrated by telling jokes as they lay there. Doctor Chakwas shooed visitors away constantly to keep them calm while they recovered from their injuries. So really, Tali, Garrus, and Shepard were all they had.

Eventually they were released out of the hospital, to help rebuild their respective planets and worlds. Warp drive was created out of the necessity for faster than light travel, considering the mass effect relays were destroyed in the wake of the reaper's destruction. Many still couldn't believe they achieved the impossible, the reapers were destroyed, and synthetics and organics were working together.

Days became weeks, weeks became months, months became years, and by then, the Normandy crew parted ways. Never losing complete contact of course, but they were separated by duty or personal goals. The crew always met up whenever they could, a friendship strong and one that would last throughout the ages.

Liara went back to Thessia, desperate to rebuild her home, and used her knowledge and connections to aid the effort. She becomes somewhat of a mentor and teacher on the Reaper crisis, and remains an expert on the Protheans, a historian and storyteller.

Joker and EDI remained as pilots for the Alliance until the end of their days.

James remained in the N7 program, quickly raising in the ranks, eventually gaining command of his own ship.

Ashley became the second human specter, and quickly devoted her time helping Earth and the Galaxy recover from the reaper invasion.

Samantha remained in the Alliance, but rumor has it that she also became a world class Kepesh-Yakshi player in the competitive league. Well known by all within that community.

Steve continued to be a shuttle pilot in the alliance for about 3 years after the reaper invasion. Until eventually retiring and founding an orphanage on Earth.

Tali returned to Rannoch to help her people rebuild the planet. With the help of the Geth, the Quarian people recovered quickly, and within the span of seven years, they could live without their suits.

It in unknown where Javik disappeared to after the Reaper invasion, many suspect Shepard knew, but she never revealed his location.

Garrus and Shepard focused on aiding civilizations with recovery as much as they could, eventually retiring on a beach somewhere.

One thing that was certain, was that the cycle was broken, civilizations can now live and grow as they please, without threat from the reapers. To prevent the problem, the reapers claimed they were trying to prevent, efforts were made to develop treaties and friendships between the two life forms. Synthetics and organics, living side by side, yes there was conflict, for the road to peace is not easy. However, in the long run, it was a better solution than anything the reapers could've ever hoped to achieve.

The Normandy crew and Shepard are remembered for taking down the reapers, and there are distant whispers asking if what Shepard said was true. Did she make her own choice, and were the other choices actually that bad? Some scholars wished she went for synthesis, others wondered about what would've happened if she chose control. Many anti-synths wished she just went along with complete destruction.

Regardless, it is agreed upon that it was good that the reaper threat was over, forever. Shepard became a legend, even if she didn't want to be revered as such. A lesson for us all, you can't control who lives or dies and tells your story.


	4. Blow Us All Away

**Author's Note:** _I didn't intend on writing another chapter, but I had a request to continue the story somehow. So to celebrate the new Mass Effect Andromeda trailer, I have decided to write a chapter based on my excitement for Andromeda. I hope you all enjoy it, and happy late N7 day! (I was supposed to publish this entire story on N7 day, but I procrastinated on posting it. ¯\\_(_ _ツ_ _)_/¯ I hope you enjoy regardless.) The chapter title was hard to pick, because it could've been "Dear Ryder" as well to reference "Dear Theodosia", but I think "Blow Us All Away" is better._

 _By the way, "Ignorance is Bliss" is on hiatus for the moment. I apologize for that, but I will start working on it again once I think of how to develop Courier 6 more, for I think I haven't fleshed her out as much as I would've liked to. I hope these little distractions will suffice for now._

 _I also have additional Author's Notes at the end of the story, pretty much thanking you guys._

Some figures of a man and a woman in white suits walked around on the bridge of some sort of vessel. The voice of Commander Shepard was heard as they wandered.

"We are travelers, constantly moving forward…."

The woman pulled her brown hair into a ponytail, then puts on a helmet, while the man fitted a helmet over his head.

"…and looking back, alone and as one…."

The man then looks out the window with the woman. Whom starts pressing buttons on the console nearby.

"We have no choice but to try, for our insatiable curiosity…"

Figures of a krogan, a turian, and an asari arrive on the bridge. The man picks up a folder that he placed down while putting on his helmet.

"…for our fear in what should happen if we don't…"

The krogan held a rifle, the turian held nothing, and the asari held a map. The man and woman nod in approval.

"you are that explorer now. We will say goodbye, and you will look back one last time, and know that wherever you go….."

The woman takes the asari's map, and the man's folder, then places it on the console.

"…we will be with you. This is Commander Shepard, signing off."

The recording of Commander Shepard ended, and the woman opened her mouth to address the man, krogan, turian, and asari.

"Well, we're a long way from our old homes, but now we must claim new ones. My brother and I will make sure the Andromeda initiative is successful." She said with confidence.

"I'll do my best sister." The man chimed.

"Hopefully Commander Shepard's words will inspire us all the make sure this operation succeeds." The woman continued. "That is why I summoned everyone here, to remember our purpose, our main goal. We must not fail. Dismissed."

The turian, asari, and krogan dispersed and went their separate ways on the ship. The man walked up to the woman.

"That was pretty good sister, although it is going to be weird hearing people call us 'Commander Ryder'." He said.

"Thank you, and yes, it is going to be weird. We'll get used to it." The woman sighed. "I'm also afraid that this will endeavor will eventually crumble."

"Hey, you're one of the most agreeable people I've ever known. You're also my sister, and I know we'll do great." The man chuckled.

"But, I'm no Commander Shepard. She was, she was legendary." The woman stuttered. "She negotiated peace with multiple different races. The turians and the krogans, don't get me started on the geth and the quarians."

"Shepard was a legend; and she was also just a normal person. Remember what happened on Virmire and Akuze? Everyone makes mistakes."

The woman frowned. "I can't afford mistakes, Shepard had them, but that was early in her career."

"What I'm trying to say is that no one is perfect, even Commander Shepard. Yet she accomplished so much, you'll also suffer loses and make mistakes, but we will recover from them."

"Thanks for the comfort, history may be the cruelest judge, but I'll do what I can." She said with a smile, still slightly shaking.

The man walked to the exit of the bridge, turned around and said. "Commander Ryder, I'm sure you'll blow us all away."

The woman smiled and looked back, "Commander Ryder, sir, thank you, and I know you'll also blow us all away."

 **Author's Note:** _Thank you so much for reading this story, and thank you Lizard4523 for reviewing it and asking me to continue it. Although I think this is all I'm going to write. Thank you for the favorites and follows and just everything. Seeing people enjoy my writing fills me with rare self-esteem and gets me to write more, something I never got while I was on Quotev. Sorry for being sappy, but seriously, thank you guys so much! I should listen to Hamilton and write more often, because I'm really proud of this work. Once again, I can't thank you guys enough! ^_^_


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